Witnesses terrified as convicted thugs chase man through Milton Keynes shopping centre

A five-year-old child screamed "we are going to die" as two convicted thugs chased a man through Central Milton Keynes shopping centre in what was feared to be a terrorist incident, a court heard today.

William Vin-Kab and Morhede Sullivan had pursued another man who they claimed had stabbed Vin-Kab in the head while he was out at a market.

They told police it was related to a grudge over an ex-girlfriend, Aylesbury Crown Court heard.

Vin-Kab, 26 years, had been described as "spoiling for a fight" by witnesses who saw him pick up an advertising board at the shopping centre and threaten the man carrying the knife.

Prosecutor Edward Culver said: "The incident occurred on August 23 2018 at the Milton Keynes Central Shopping Centre during the school holidays, when a number of parents and young children were present.

"The real impact of the incident is on the witnesses who were at the scene and there are various descriptions of concern over a terrorist incident occurring.

Mr Culver added: "Mr Vin-Kab was described as aggressive, pumped up and spoiling for a fight. One witness left in shock. On the CCTV, one can hear shouting between all three males and one hears a five-year-old child shouting 'we are going to die, we are going to die!'"

Two parents who had a child in a pushchair were moved away as the affray continued and the incident only came to an end when staff at the shopping centre intervened, the court heard.

All three men were arrested, but Vin-Kab and Sullivan admitted affray, the court heard.

Vin-Kab, of no fixed abode, refused to appear to be sentenced, having told a guard at HMP Birmingham he felt sick and then saying "it does not matter".

The defendant, who had argued he was acting in self-defence, was already serving a four-and-a-half year sentence and had been convicted 36 times for 58 offences including battery, public disorder, assault, robberies, assaulting a police constable and failing to comply with the requirements of a court order.

Sullivan, from London, was serving a three-year sentence for drugs matters and possession of a bladed item, the court heard.

The 27-year-old, who appeared for his sentencing hearing, had been in court eight times previously for 11 offences of which he had been convicted, including another offence involving a knife.

Neither Vin-Kab nor Sullivan had been carrying a knife during this offence and the other man was accused of carrying the blade and he was due to stand trial in relation to that matter, the court was told.

Defending Vin-Kab, Andrew Bousfield said: "He entirely accepts the danger and the terror that must have been caused to the people in the shopping centre. That is not something you want to see when you are at your local shopping centre."

Judge Thomas Rochford accepted that Sullivan had played a lesser role and that Vin-Kab had led the chase through the busy shopping centre and been the only one to arm himself with the advertising board.

Sentencing, he said: "Clearly there had been some sort of altercation. Mr Vin-Kab had received a cut to his ear or a nick, that seems highly likely to have been caused by another defendant.

"They pursued him, knowing he was armed with a knife and he was holding that knife in his hands, in a way that was extremely frightening or upsetting for shoppers.

"At least one thought, unsurprisingly, that they were in the midst of some dreadful terrorist incident because there was a knife present, clearly visible, there must have been considerable concern on the part of those nearby that there would have been a dreadful stabbing incident."

Vin-Kab was given 52 weeks in prison and Sullivan was given 45 weeks, both being told that their sentences would be consecutive to the ones they were already serving.